


Thank you, Manon!

by JuliaFC



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Finds Out First, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29884518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaFC/pseuds/JuliaFC
Summary: And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why you shouldNEVER, ever tell a 5 year old about your crush. During a raging fit after Gabriel's latest unjust treatment against him, Adrien dials by accident Marinette's number. Only... Marinette'snotthe one who picks up. It's Manon! Enjoy!Lovesquare story, mostly Adrinette. Written for my friend Etoile, who needed a hug (and a good laugh).
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 35
Kudos: 201





	Thank you, Manon!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EtoileLeadSama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtoileLeadSama/gifts).



**Betas:** [ **Khanofallorcs** ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khanofallorcs) **,** [ **Agrestebug** ](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/12552168/AgresteBug) **,** [ **rosehealer02** ](https://www.deviantart.com/rosehealer02) **,** [ **genxha** ](https://www.twitch.tv/genxha) **, and** [ **Malauu-LadyNoir** ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malauu_Ladynoir/pseuds/Malauu_Ladynoir) **. Thank you all so much!**

**Cover art credit (as soon as the art bunny strikes):** [ **Rosehealer02** ](https://www.deviantart.com/rosehealer02) **on Deviantart**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**Written for my friend** [ **Etoile-Lead-Sama** ](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3180546/Etoile-Lead-Sama) **, who needed a hug and something to cheer her up.**

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

“I said no, and this is final, Adrien!” Gabriel’s voice boomed in the big dining room. He stood up from his chair, his back straight, his cold gaze trained on Adrien’s face. The boy was breathing hard and clenching his fists on the sides of his plate that contained an unfinished meal of white chicken breast and dull looking salad. 

“But, Father, it’s for a school project! I can’t let my friends down!” Adrien gulped, but his gaze moved from the chicken on his plate and met and sustained his father’s icy grey eyes. “Mlle. Bustier paired us together. It’s not fair to them that I won’t attend! And it’s going to affect my grade too if I do it on my own!”

Gabriel approached Adrien and banged his hand on the firm wood of the table just near his son’s hand. “Then you better work twice as hard on it, to ensure that your grades won’t be affected. It’s my final word.” He moved his face mere centimetres from Adrien’s as he continued, “You won’t return to school until you’re done. Have I made myself clear, Adrien? You will concentrate on this important project of yours and on your piano and fencing lessons. Nathalie will ensure that you won’t fall behind the rest of your studies too, until you will be ready to return to school.” That said, Gabriel moved away and walked out of the room. 

Hot tears of frustration and rage popped out of Adrien’s eyes. Nathalie, who was standing near the wall with her tablet firmly in her hands, adjusted her glasses. “I recommend you finish eating your dinner and then go back to your room. We will arrange your lessons in the morning.”

“I’m not hungry,” said Adrien with a choking tone of voice. He stood up from his seat and walked to the door. He walked with apparent calm all the way to the grand marble staircase, and then up the stairs and to his bedroom’s door. He choked a sob as he opened the handle, his bottom lip quivering, his eyes full of the tears he was barely managing to hold down. He burst inside his room, locked the door behind him and ran to his bed, falling face down on it and starting to bang his fists on the carefully straightened bedsheets. He heard his phone pinging and he took it out forcefully from his jeans’ pocket and banged it on the bed, together with his hand, as tears ran freely out of his eyes, staining his bedsheets, and his sobs resounded in the silence of the room.

“I can’t believe him! I really can’t! How dare he treat you like this. And why do you let him, Adrien?” said Plagg coming out from behind his holder’s back. “Nobody should go through what you do.” Plagg flew into his cupboard and came out with a wheel of Camembert, which he proceeded to chew on. 

Adrien didn’t even listen to him. He kept banging his fist on the bedsheets and crying his eyes out. He was fed up with all this. It was so unfair. Now he had to message Marinette and Nino and let them know that he wouldn’t be able to take part in their group project. That he wouldn’t be able to return to school until he finished it, apparently. He hated this life. He hated it with all his might. He picked his phone and threw it towards his pillow and kept crying into the bedsheets, until he heard something that froze him in his veins.

“Hello?” said a metallic voice coming from a little further up from his head. He opened his eyes wide, sniffled loudly and looked around. It didn’t sound like Plagg’s voice. 

What on Earth…

And that’s when he saw it. His phone was resting against his pillow, just a few centimeters over his head. It was on call, and the screen displayed Marinette’s picture and number.

_ Shoot!  _ Did he just call Marinette? Oh no… true, he did want to call her, but not now, not while he was still crying and his voice was all groggy and his nose so full. Glaring at Plagg’s cackling in the distance (and thanking all the saints that Plagg’s voice couldn’t be recorded by technology, because the little furball couldn’t stop) he grabbed the phone quickly and cleared his throat before putting it over his ear. 

“Huh, hello? Marinette, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to call you, not now anyway,” he muttered, kicking himself because of how cracked his voice sounded. 

“I’m not Marinette, I’m Manon,” said the voice on the other side of the phone. “Marinette is downstairs to grab some cookies.”

“Uh,  _ Manon _ ?” Adrien’s eyes widened, and he dried them with the back of his free hand, sniffling a little. 

Manon? Oh yes, Manon. That little girl that Giuseppe used once for one of his photoshoots and who had also come with them to the wax museum a few months before. Marinette babysat her from time to time, he remembered. She was the daughter of Nadja Chamack. 

“Yes, I’m Manon. Why are you sad?”

Adrien gasped. “I’m not sad,” he said.

“Mommy says that I shouldn’t lie. Didn’t your mommy tell you that?” said Manon’s crystal voice. 

Adrien couldn’t help gasping again. He knew that Manon didn’t mean to, but hearing the little girl mention his mother hurt him in a way that he didn’t even expect. The painful pang of sorrow filled his soul so suddenly he couldn’t prevent the sob coming out of his throat. He moved the phone away from his face and wiped his eyes again with the back of his hand, which then he proceeded to clean on his jeans. 

“You’re right, Manon, sorry. I  _ am _ sad,” he said eventually. “And… my… my mommy’s... not here any more.”

“Oh,” came Manon’s voice from the phone. “That  _ is  _ sad. I was going to say that when I’m sad my mommy gives me a hug, but you can’t go to yours anymore.”

“No, I can’t.” He sniffled some more and hugged his arms. He shouldn’t let Manon’s comment get to him that much. It had been over a year since his mother had disappeared, and the little girl didn’t mean to hurt him, he knew that well. But… he just couldn’t. He couldn’t stop the tears from falling. 

“Well,” continued Manon, “when my mommy’s not around, someone else who loves me gives me a hug, like my daddy or Marinette.”

Adrien choked a sigh. “I’m just a very sad person with nobody who loves him,” he muttered, totally not expecting (or wanting) Manon to hear that.

“What are you talking about? Come here and ask Marinette to give you a cuddle,” said Manon cheerfully. 

Adrien’s heart skipped a beat as his cheeks flamed red and his eyes widened. His mouth gaped open and he nearly dropped his phone. “Uh, Manon, I-I ca-can’t po-possibly d-do that…”

“Why not?” asked Manon simply. “Marinette loves you.”

Adrien dropped his phone and forgot how to breathe. His whole face flamed red, his mouth sprang open as his eyes became as big as saucers. Then he remembered who was talking to him on the phone. Manon was  _ five _ . Of course she would say that Marinette loved him. He picked his phone up with cold and shaky fingers and put it on loudspeaker because he couldn’t bear to put it close to his ear. Then he said it shakingly, 

“Uh, yeah, sure Manon. She l-loves me. As a  _ friend _ .”

Plagg was literally dying with laughter over there by his Camembert’s cupboard. Adrien shot him a quick, but deadly, glare.

“What? Nope. Not as a friend. She loves loooooooooooooooooves you!” Manon stretched the last ‘love’ for a long time. “That’s what she said when I asked her what were all the presents she hides in the box. She said that it's the presents she made for you.”

“P-presents? In the box?” he repeated out of pure shock. What was Manon talking about? His heart was pounding so hard in his chest he felt it could possibly come out of his ribcage. Hang on a second. Maybe Manon didn’t know who Adrien was. Maybe she thought he was Luka or someone else? “Manon, do you know who I am?” he asked.

“Yes I do. You’re the boy in all the pictures on her wall. The one we went to the wax museum with.”

“Oh. Yeah. I-it’s me, yes.” Adrien didn’t know where to look. He certainly didn’t want to look at Plagg, who was still cackling beside his Camembert’s cupboard. He sat up and rested his free elbow on his thigh. Then he stood up and started pacing the room up and down. Then he sat down again and started looking with great interest at his thighs.

“So you see, I know who you are. And I know that Marinette loves looooves you,” said Manon proudly, as if her teacher had asked her a tricky question and she had managed to find the right answer.

Adrien’s heart was in his ears. He had to purposely tell himself to breathe because he felt that he was going to get dizzy and feel sick if he didn’t catch some air, like, right now. As he looked up from his thighs, he saw Plagg floating comfortably on his back, his arms folded behind his head, his electric green eyes staring at him mockingly. “Kids always tell the truth, you know…” he highlighted and then started cackling again after looking at what must have been the most baffled expression to ever come on Adrien’s face. 

“Oh,” he managed to say. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” said Manon with a conspiratorial tone to her voice. 

Adrien’s mouth felt super dry. “Yes?” He was going to hyperventilate soon if he didn’t stop breathing this heavily, and he knew that. Did he care? Not in the least.

“She has  _ hundreds  _ of presents for you!” she whispered into the phone’s microphone. 

Adrien’s mind filled instantly with images of Marinette. His wonderful, brave, amazing and beautiful friend. He had always thought that she hated him. Or at least, that she tolerated him only because of Alya and Nino. And because he was the son of Gabriel Agreste, of course… “S-she said that she had the pictures of me in her room because she loved fashion and the work of my father,” he thought to himself, not realising that he was actually saying it aloud.

“Nah. She kisses your pictures goodnight every night before going to bed. I saw her once when mommy was out for the night and I slept here.” 

_ She does  _ **_what_ ** _? _

“And she has a big diary in her room with what you do during the day. She updates it all the time.”

The more Manon was talking, the deeper the shade of red flushing Adrien’s face was getting. 

“D-does she?” he asked, still not believing his ears. “Really? I... I would like to see th-that.”

“Yes!” said Manon excitedly. “She said that she wants to  _ marry _ you one day and have three kids, Emma, Hugo and Louis.”

Was Marinette really imagining getting married? To  _ him _ ? And to have, uh, kids? His cheeks renewed in their warmth. 

“And a  _ hamster _ ,” continued Manon, completely unaware of the bottomless pit of emotions that she had just woken up in his soul. “She said she really wants a hamster. Not a cat, because they’re too needy.”

That actually made Adrien laugh, as Plagg didn’t like the answer and huffed annoyingly. 

Adrien’s eyes trained on Plagg’s electric ones as he whispered, “Ah.  _ Are they _ now?”

Manon continued enthusiastically, without even noticing the irony in Adrien’s words. “Yes, she says that  _ her cat _ is very, very needy. But I don’t know what she means because she doesn’t have a cat…”

Adrien choked a chuckle. He would definitely need to ask Marinette about this needy cat. He had a bit of an idea as to  _ whom  _ she was talking about, but teasing her sounded so good right now. “I see… so she wants a hamster?”

“Yep,” Manon’s cheerful voice declared from the phone. “A hamster named—”

But she couldn’t finish, because Adrien heard a loud bang in the distance and Marinette’s voice shouting, “MANON! What are you doing with my phone?”

Manon didn’t even sound surprised, or scared. “I was talking to your  _ boyfriend _ , Marinette.”

Marinette’s loud gasp echoed even in his room for how loud it was. “My… GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” And on that scream, the phone call ended. Adrien was left staring in total disbelief at Marinette’s picture on his phone. It showed red stripes on the top and bottom to signal that the other side had turned the conversation off. 

Plagg’s loud cackles were the only sound in the room. Adrien couldn’t breathe. He collapsed on his back onto the bed, arms wide open and watched the ceiling of his room for a very long time.

A very, VERY long time.

After an even  _ longer  _ time, Adrien saw Plagg’s worried green eyes popping at his right followed (or maybe preceded?) by the stinking smell of Camembert. “Are you all right,  _ gamin _ ?”

Adrien winced as the offending stench reached his nostrils. “Yeah. Take that stinky stuff away from my nose, Plagg. Please. Or I’m going to throw up…”

Plagg glared at him, opened his mouth and filled it with the whole wheel of Camembert that he held in his paws, which he chewed in an instant. “Better now?” he asked. Adrien nodded and sat up. But he kept staring in the emptiness in front of his eyes, without saying anything. Plagg moved to his face and started waving his paws in front of it.

“She loves me, Plagg,” he eventually managed to say. “I thought that she hated me, but she loves me.”

Plagg smirked. “Yeh, tell me something I didn’t know,” he drawled mockingly. 

“You mean… you knew?” Adrien’s gaze stopped staring into thin air and darted to Plagg’s face. Plagg’s smirk widened. 

“Me and about everybody else. Everyone except you,  _ gamin _ . Even Fencer-lady knew; I could tell.”

Adrien’s eyes grew wide. “Ka-kagami knew?”

“Aha,” said Plagg, the smirk still firmly on his lips. “And she knew even the other part.”

Adrien flushed deep red and tore his gaze from Plagg’s scrutinising eyes. “W-what other part?”

Plagg moved again to where Adrien was looking and raised a mocking eyebrow. Adrien moved his gaze away once more, so the little God of Destruction continued, “Based on the colour of your face, do I really need to tell you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Adrien looked again at his thighs and stayed quiet for some time. Then he cupped his hands to his face and muttered, “D-do you really th-think she knew?”

“I would bet my whole stash of Camembert,  _ gamin _ . When you told her that you weren’t ready for a serious relationship with her, she didn’t even argue the point. She just accepted it and left. That’s not the behaviour of a girl who is (obviously) very much in love with you, as she was, and thinks that you reciprocate her feelings.”

“B-but… what about Ladybug?” asked Adrien to his shoes. He couldn’t look up at Plagg. He really couldn’t.

“What about her?” said Plagg. “She rejected you long enough.”

Adrien sighed loudly. “I know. But I love her.” He looked at Plagg who raised an eyebrow at him. “I really do, you know that. How can I love two girls?”

Plagg glared at him. He zipped inside his press and came out of it carrying two small wheels of camembert. “As much as your ethical mind can't believe this, Adrien, men and women have loved two, and sometimes more than two, of the other sex (and sometimes even of their own sex) for millennia.” He looked fondly at one of his wheels of Camembert in his right paw. 

“See this one,” continued Plagg. “She's from the batch that we brought back from New York. So gorgeous and smelly, just right. I love it so much and am so looking forward to eating it. But see this other wheel?” Adrien nodded. “She’s my favourite aged wheel. I let her rest for nearly six months. I love this wheel so much, too, and am looking forward to eating it as much. Which one do I love the best? No idea. I love both the same.”

Adrien blinked watching his little friend zip back to his cupboard and emerging again without his precious wheels in his paws. Plagg’s comparison was uncannily fitting. “I may regret what I’m about to say, but it does make sense.”

Plagg smirked. “Of course it does.” He moved and started floating right in the middle of Adrien’s face, his electric green eyes firmly staring into his own, as if he was scanning his soul. “So, what are you going to do?”

“About what?” The look in Plagg’s eyes became more stern and Adrien couldn’t help but blushing a little

“About the information you’ve just been given. I bet my entire stash of Camembert that now Pigtails is having a real panic attack, after the girl has told her what she has just opened your eyes to.”

Adrien snorted. “You’re talking as if I’ve been blind all along.”

Plagg raised an eyebrow. “Take the ‘as if’ away. You _have_ been blind all along,  _ gamin _ .”

Adrien put his hands to his hair. His heart was pounding so madly in his chest he felt like it could easily break out of his ribcage. What was he supposed to do? He needed time to digest all the overload of information he had been given. But at the same time, he didn’t want to wait. A part of himself wanted to run to Marinette’s house and swoop her off her feet. But the other part of him was there, whispering in his ear that it wasn’t fair, that his heart wouldn’t be all for Marinette, that she didn’t deserve to be stuck with a guy who couldn’t love her completely. The other part of him, however, was whispering back that maybe Marinette didn’t care. After all she had already named their kids and decided that they should have a hamster.

How did she know that he wanted to get a hamster?

“It’s not fair on Marinette. I will never be able to love her completely, my heart will always beat also for Ladybug,” he stated, more to himself than to Plagg.

Plagg huffed. “Why don’t you go there and tell her all this? Let her decide whether she cares about it or not? She may be happy to share,” spat the little kwami to his face. Then, he looked away and added quietly, “especially because there’s nothing to share!”

“What?” said Adrien, his eyes widening at what Plagg had just muttered.

Plagg’s face turned a little grey. “Uh, you weren’t supposed to hear that.” Then he continued to himself. “Your sense of hearing is far better than your eyesight.”

“I heard that,” deadpanned Adrien. He folded his arms on his chest and smirked at Plagg’s evident discomfort. “What do you mean that there’s nothing to share?”

Plagg gave him such a guilt-filled look that Adrien couldn’t help getting suspicious. He raised an eyebrow and went to his computer. “If you tell me, Plagg, I’ll order you that expensive wheel of Camembert that you've been begging me to get for the last three months.”

Plagg gulped. “You can’t say things like that, Adrien, you know I can’t tell you anything!”

“Three year aged Camembeeert…” Adrien turned the screen towards Plagg and showed him a picture of what he was talking about. He smirked when Plagg started drooling on the floor. 

“You’re cruel, Adrien, I will ask the guardian to change my holder, you’re too cruel…”

“Click click cliiiick…” Adrien was undoubtedly having fun in seeing Plagg so distressed. But what the kwami had just said had triggered his curiosity and now he really wanted to know. He ought to know. He had a feeling that it was something of utmost importance.

“Adrieeeeeen… don’t be this cruel, please! Go there and tell her. All I’m saying is that she may not mind.” Plagg pouted and looked at Adrien with kitten eyes. Oh bother, Adrien couldn’t resist the kitten eyes. 

“I’ll let you off this time, Plagg, but only because I really want to follow your suggestion and go check on Marinette. But we’ll keep talking about it later. I won’t give up.” Adrien approached Plagg’s cupboard and held his breath to open it and pick up a couple of slices of Camembert to put in the pocket of his shirt. Just in case. Then he turned towards his furry friend and said it curtly, “Plagg, claws out!” He was sure he heard a sigh of relief coming from the black kwami as he was sucked into the ring.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Adrien reached Marinette’s boulangerie very quickly. He jumped down into a small alley as close as possible to it and released his transformation, taking out immediately a slice of Camembert from his shirt to shut Plagg up.

He checked left and right that nobody was in sight and, as soon as Plagg had finished his meal, he proceeded towards the shop’s door.

“Oh hello, dear,” greeted Sabine as soon as he entered the shop. The wonderful smell of fresh bread out of the oven and baked goods hit his nostrils and Adrien couldn’t stop a little moan of pleasure escaping his throat as his eyes closed and he breathed in.

“Good evening, Madame Cheng,” said Adrien with a small smile. “Is Marinette around?”

Sabine looked up. “She’s upstairs with Alya, they’re babysitting Manon for my friend Nadja. You’re welcome to head up if you want, I’m sure Marinette will be happy to see you.”

Adrien beamed at her. “That would be fantastic, Madame Cheng, thank you!”

Sabine opened the little gate that separated the customer side of the shop to the kitchen and beckoned him to come through. “You know the way, I think.”

“Yes, I do, thank you.” 

He walked through the kitchen and waved at Marinette’s dad who was just taking out of the oven what looked like a delicious tray full of wonderfully baked croissants (and smelled even better, to be honest!)

“Oh hello, son, long time no see,” greeted the imposing man.

“Good evening, Monsieur Dupain; yes, it’s been a while!” He couldn’t help but look dreamily at the wonderfully smelling treats, still piping hot on the metallic tray in Tom’s hands. Tom must have seen where he was looking, because he smiled proudly and picked up a few delicious works of art and placed them on a little plastic tray, and straight into his hands.

“There you go, bring a few upstairs for the girls and Manon. And for yourself of course!” He raised an eyebrow seeing that Adrien was picking up his wallet from his jeans’ pocket. “And keep that money into your wallet, son, that’s on the house.”

“Thank you, Monsieur Dupain!” Adrien’s genuine smile was like a gift. Tom smiled back and gave him a pat on the shoulder. 

“Now go, son. I’m sure Marinette will be delighted to see you.”

_ Not too sure about that _ , thought Adrien with a soft smile as he left the kitchen behind and reached the hall at the back of the boulangerie, and started to climb the stairs to go upstairs. 

“When you get upstairs, just push the door open,” came Tom’s loud voice from downstairs. “I don’t think that the girls would hear you if you ring the bell. Make yourself at home, son, and head straight to Marinette’s room.”

When Adrien did as he was told, he already started to hear some commotion from upstairs, where he knew that Marinette’s room was. It was Alya’s voice and she seemed to be very panicky. 

“Breathe, Marinette. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale!”

“This is a DISASTER, Alya! A DISASTER! My life is ruined!” That was Marinette. Adrien wondered what could be such a disaster to cause her life to be ruined. He politely knocked on the trapdoor before popping his head up. 

“Hi, Marinette. Can I come up? I need to talk to you.” He popped his head through the trapdoor just in time to hear Marinette utter a loud squeaking sound and see her faint on her chaise longue. “I also have some croissants from your dad.” He beamed and showed the tray in his hands to Alya and Manon. The little girl squealed in delight. Not Alya, because she was too busy fanning Marinette.

“Gimme gimme gimme!” said Manon, and Adrien walked in, sat legs crossed on the floor and put the tray down, allowing Manon to pick a croissant of her choice before he did. Then he looked over at Alya and Marinette.

“Is Marinette okay?” he asked Alya, who shot him a deathly glare. He gulped.

“She will be in a while, Sunshine. What are you doing here?” Alya raised an eyebrow as Adrien’s free hand reached the nape of his neck and he smiled nervously.

“Well, I had a nice phone conversation earlier on with a young lady who said some interesting things,” he said, his gaze fixed on Manon as he finished eating his croissant. The little girl beamed at him and he couldn’t avoid grinning back. 

“You don’t look sad anymore,” said Manon. “Maybe you can give a cuddle to Marinette, though. She was very sad for some reason and now she’s asleep.”

Adrien’s face turned deep red at Manon’s words, but Alya smirked triumphantly as she drawled, “Oh, yes. That would be a  _ good _ idea.” She gave Adrien a sly look that made his mouth go dry. “C’me here, Sunshine.” She gestured him to approach, but seemed a bit taken aback when Adrien stood up and did as he was told.

“How can I help?” he inquired politely. Marinette was laying on the chaise longue, face down. He couldn’t work out if she was unconscious or just pretending.

Alya put a hand to her chin. “Well, that depends,” she said, her gaze wandering to the ceiling.

“What?” he pressed. 

Alya put a hand to her chin again and took a little time before answering. “Were the things the ‘young lady’ said interesting in a good way or in a bad way?” She glanced quickly at Manon when she mentioned the ‘young lady’ and then her gaze locked into his; and his heart skipped a beat. 

Okay. Now he was on the spot. Shoot. He felt a gush of heat rush to his face as his hand reached for his nape once more. He sat down on the chaise next to Marinette and crouched a bit over himself.

“So?” pressed Alya. 

Adrien couldn’t look at her any longer. He darted his gaze to Marinette, still in the same position on the chaise, and then to Manon who was looking at him expectantly, her eyes wide in innocent curiosity. His face felt even warmer than before.

“You know what?” said Alya eventually, slapping her hands on her thighs. “Manon, why don’t we go downstairs to return the tray to the kitchen? We can watch some cartoons on TV and wait for your mommy.”

“But—” started Manon, but Alya gave her a firm look and smiled forcefully.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun, come on. I’ll tell you a story if we don’t find anything to watch.” Manon still looked skeptical, so Alya continued, “a story about unicorns!”

To that, Manon’s face brightened and a big smile spread on her lips. “The Unicorns of Lala Land?” she asked excitedly.

Alya grabbed her hand and started walking down the steps to the living room with her. She stopped for a second, though, and gave a thumbs up to Adrien who felt his face getting even warmer.

“Wow, never seen that colour on your face, Sunshine!” She giggled at his evident embarrassment, winked and eventually disappeared out of the trapdoor.

Adrien stared at the closed trapdoor for quite some time, his heart racing so madly in his chest to feel physical pain to his ribcage. Then his gaze moved to Marinette on the chaise next to him. He kept staring at her pigtails, unsure of what to do. 

He knew now that she had feelings towards him. He knew that she wasn't with Luka any more, because Luka himself had told him, a couple of weeks after they returned from New York. Adrien had gotten permission to attend a training session with Kitty Section and had asked Luka how it was going with Marinette, genuinely curious as to whether they were happy together. Luka had told him that Marinette didn't love him, and had given Adrien a thoughtful look; Adrien hadn't understood why, at the time. He understood now. 

He gulped and tapped his fingers nervously on the soft fabric of the chaise. 

“Marinette? Are you awake?” he asked cautiously. When he got no answer, he sighed and moved a little closer to her and grabbed her hand. Was it his imagination or had she jumped ever so slightly? Adrien raised an eyebrow and started playing with her hand, stroking the back of it fondly and bringing it to his lips. Then he put her hand down again, resting it on his thigh. 

“What Manon told me earlier,” he started, not really knowing where to go from there. “It surprised me, you know? I thought that you didn't like me at all until I spoke to her. I believed that you hated me and just tolerated me to satisfy Alya and Nino. I—” He squeezed her hand even more. “I'm so happy that it's not the case.”

He took a big sigh and looked at her decisively. He opened his mouth and… his heart went into his ears. Nope. He couldn’t say it. He definitely couldn’t say it. She was there, lying on her chaise, unconscious but he couldn’t get himself to say it. Because saying it even just to himself, even just to her when she couldn’t hear him, was going to make it real. To  _ him _ . He sighed again as he felt his face warming up once more. He grabbed her hand again and squeezed it with his. He gave her another worried look, but she hadn’t bulged at all. 

“Marinette?” He tried to shake her shoulder and by doing so, he moved her and looked at her sleeping face. Somehow she had lost the cringing look and was now smiling. His heart did funny stuff in his chest as he saw that. She was so painfully beautiful. Because she had moved and had come closer to him, now it was easier for him to hold her hand and bring it to his lips, cupped together with his both. “You’re so amazing. You’re the bravest person I know beside Ladybug. I’m so privileged to know you and I feel so flattered that you feel something more than friendship for me. You’re one of my best friends, my Everyday Ladybug. I—”

“Oh paw-lease,” came Plagg’s voice from his shirt. Marinette seemed again to move ever so slightly. The little black kwami came out of his hiding place and started floating in front of his nose, diverting his gaze from the unconscious girl to him. “Can you not just say it? What are you waiting for, Christmas?”

“Plagg!” hissed Adrien looking around himself conspiratorially. “What are you doing, get back into my pocket!”

Plagg looked left and right, and then eyed the girl unconscious on the chaise. “I don’t see any reason for me to hide,  _ gamin _ . Seriously, Adrien, who do you think you’re kidding? Can you not say it to her face, at least when she’s unconscious?”

“Plagg, if anyone sees you, you can forget the delivery of two months aged Camembert due next week. What exactly do you want me to say?” 

The look of mockery in the electric green eyes of his kwami was unmistakable. “The. Truth. Can you not say the truth, not even to yourself? Who are you lying to, Adrien? Certainly not to me, I know you too damn well!”

Adrien’s face flushed crimson at Plagg’s words. He gulped and glared at his little kwami. “What do you want me to say? What truth are you talking about?”

Plagg smirked. “Says Monsieur red faced. You should look at your face right now,  _ gamin _ , and compare it to your usual complexion. You’re so red that you couldn't get any redder. You could put a lobster to shame.” Then he went quiet and crossed his paws on his tiny chest. “Oh, I stand corrected. You’ve found an even deeper shade of red now. Are you trying to rival Tikki by any chance?”

“Shut up,” muttered Adrien under his breath. He glared at the black kwami and pointed a finger at him. “I love her, okay? I’m in love with her. With all my h—I mean, with  _ almost  _ all my heart. A part of my heart will always beat for Ladybug. I'm such a stupid cat… but… I love Marinette. Much more than just a friend. Okay? Are you happy now? I said it! I, Adrien Agreste, am in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and,” he looked down, feeling even more blood rushing to his face, “am so amazingly stupid for having rejected her when she told me as Chat Noir that she had feelings for me. I felt horrible rejecting her even then, and I was so stupid that I didn’t understand why. I love her, okay? Leave me alone!” He put his hands in his hair, crouched over himself and stared at his shoes, as the few rebellious tears coming out of his eyes made his surroundings fogged and twisting around into a misty dance. But his heart stopped when he felt a hand patting him on his back. A hand that was definitely much bigger than Plagg’s. 

His head jolted up and he blinked in a daze, his green eyes darting around until they met the bluebell eyes of the girl next to him. Adrien lost the ability to breathe as his mouth gaped open. Plagg was still floating over his head.

_ Plagg _ . Was still. Floating.  _ Over his head _ . Marinette was  **_awake_ ** . 

Merde!

Plagg didn’t look afraid, though. He crossed his paws on his chest and glared at Marinette. “So you  _ weren’t  _ unconscious,” he stated simply. Marinette shook her head, so Plagg continued, “Have you even _ been _ unconscious  _ at any point  _ since he arrived here?” Marinette shook her head again. Adrien gulped; his mouth was incredibly dry. 

“Nope. I thought that if I pretended to be unconscious, you would go away. Sorry.” She blushed and hid her face in her hands. “I didn’t expect him to stay, or to start talking to me, and I certainly didn’t expect  _ you  _ to come out of hiding, Plagg…”

She looked up and shot Plagg a scrutinising look. The ears of the little black kwami flattened on his head. “Is my  _ gamin  _ in trouble?” he inquired. Marinette blushed and shook her head. Plagg visibly relaxed. What was going on? Marinette acted as if she knew Plagg. Yes, she knew what a kwami was, due to her experience as Multimouse, but she shouldn’t know Plagg personally.

Or maybe yes? She had unified Mullo and Plagg that day as Multimouse, right? Maybe she had met Plagg then! He decided to play low key. “I’m sorry, Marinette. I didn’t mean you to find out.” After he said that, he realised that Plagg wasn’t the  _ only  _ thing that Marinette had just found out. His face was renewed in his warmth.

“Oh, there’s the lobster complexion again!” Plagg sneered as Marinette and Adrien both shot him a deadly glare.

“Plagg!” Adrien groaned. He dared dart his gaze towards Marinette and the soft look she was giving him made his insides melt. He immediately looked away. 

Marinette chuckled. “What is it that you didn’t want me to find out,  _ chaton _ ?”

Adrien paled and brought a hand to his nape, smiling nervously. “Th-that. Well, actually, none of it.”

“Did you really mean what you said earlier?” asked Marinette. 

He wondered how difficult it would be to talk with his heart in his mouth. He gulped a couple of times and felt almost a clicking sound resound in the complete dryness of his throat. He didn’t trust his voice to express what he wanted to say and just nodded. 

“Really?” she murmured, one of her hands reaching his chin and stroking the skin on his jaw tenderly up to his ear. He found himself leaning into her touch, almost hungry for it and he pulled back on himself, scared of his own reaction.

He nodded again. “Yeah,” he finally managed to say. His voice was all hoarse and raspy. “I-I thought you didn’t like me, b-but for me you were more than a friend for a v-very long time. I just didn’t want to be rejected, even by you, and ruin our friendship.” He felt her hand press more strongly on his cheek. “And then, as I said, there’s Ladybug. I… I’m sorry. Marinette, but I can’t get my heart to choose.” 

He took a deep breath in and he started to talk fast, to fill the silence and hide his embarrassment. “Ladybug will always own part of my heart. But I also love  _ you  _ and I don’t know how it’s possible to love two girls the same. Plagg says that it’s normal b—mmph!” he couldn’t continue his rambling, because Marinette pushed his chin up firmly and pressed her lips to his. It was only a brush of the lips, but it was enough to make a full kaleidoscope of butterflies take residence in his stomach and to make a surge of 10 thousand kilowatts of electricity run through his body. 

“Well, Ladybug’s luck must start to rub on you then,  _ Minou _ ,” she said. Adrien furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. But all confusion disappeared when Marinette gave him a sly look and said it softly, without losing contact with his gaze not even a second, “Tikki, spots on.” A flash of pink light, and his Lady was in front of him, her smirk widening on her face when she noticed how much his jaw had dropped. 

“Told you that there was no need to share,  _ gamin _ ,” said Plagg mockingly as Adrien wrapped Ladybug in a big, massive hug. 

“It was you! All this time it was you!” He kept on squeezing her for a very long time, until Ladybug — oh, well,  _ Marinette  _ — broke the hug and gave him a fond look. 

“I love you,  _ chaton _ . It’s always been you.” She looked down and ran the fingers of her right hand through her hair, smiling softly. “I was keeping on rejecting you for…well,  _ you _ . Then Luka came into the equation and I tried to love him, because he loved me so much but… after nearly losing you in New York, I had to break up with him because—” She stopped to breathe and put a hand to her heart as she glanced at him timidly. “Because I realised that he wasn’t just a second choice, but a  _ third _ .” Adrien’s eyes widened as he gasped loudly. “It wasn’t fair on him. I… loved Adrien, but I also loved  _ Chat Noir _ and I knew that if Adrien had never been there, I would definitely have given  _ mon minou _ a chance. But I couldn't imagine a world without Adrien. It would have been a world without sunsh—” She stopped talking because he cupped a hand to her cheek. She looked up at him, her face taking a lovely shade of pink as her gaze met his. 

“M’lady? Can you give me back Marinette, please?” he asked with a soft smile. She flushed an even deeper shade of red, but released her transformation. 

“Why did you want her?” Her voice was merely audible.

“I know it’s silly, because you are the same person but…I wanted to tell  _ Marinette  _ that I love her. I love her with  _ all  _ my heart. And... I can’t wait to see the life that she has planned for us.” He chuckled and poked her a couple of times with his elbow, giving her a cunning look. “Apparently I have hundreds of presents waiting for me. Also…  _ three  _ kids? Awesome! Always wanted a big family. Love the names, by the way. Emma, Louis and Hugo. Great choice, M’lady. And a hamster. I’ve always wanted a hamster. A hamster named—”

But he didn’t manage to finish, because Marinette leaned towards him and shut him up with a kiss. All was good with the world… until Adrien heard a little clack and his heart froze in his chest.

“Ewwwwwwww… Aunty Alya, you were right, they ARE kissing!” said Manon’s voice in pure disgust. “Aunty Sabine? You owe her five euros. And Uncle Tom owes her ten!”

Adrien and Marinette parted faster than Ladybug could say ‘Lucky Charm’, a big, massive blush spreading all over their faces, up to their necks.

“Manon! What are you doing here?” asked Marinette as Adrien’s hand reached the nape of his neck. Manon finished to walk in from the trapdoor and Alya’s and Sabine’s faces popped right behind her. 

“Mommy will be here in a short while, Marinette. I needed to get my school bag,” stated the little girl simply. Then she looked at Adrien, who was still feeling quite warm in his face, and smiled brightly. “And you still haven’t told me why you were sad.”

“Manon!” scolded Marinette. “That’s probably not your business!”

Manon looked at Marinette innocently. “But he had called your number and was crying on the phone, Marinette.”

“Uh. Was he?” said Marinette with a little gasp and looked at him worriedly. Adrien’s hand reached the nape of his neck once more. 

“What happened, Sunshine? You don’t usually call Marinette in tears,” asked Alya. Adrien tore his gaze from Marinette’s concerned eyes and met another two pairs of worried eyes, Alya’s and Sabine’s. They were both sitting on the chaise, Alya next to Marinette and Sabine next to him. Manon was gathering her backpack, then she moved towards him and stood in front of him, looking at him expectantly. 

“I  _ may  _ have accidentally dialled your number while having a raging fit. You see, my father has grounded me again because I asked to take part in the group project; he said I have to do it by myself.” His hand was still firmly on his nape as he looked down, face flushed. 

“He did what?” said Marinette and Alya at the same time.

“I-I shouldn’t even be here.” He looked up. “B-but I sneaked out after Manon told me, be-because I couldn’t wait to get back to school. He said I can’t come back to school until I finish the project.” 

His shoulders fell, but he didn’t have time to feel sorry for himself. Marinette hugged him tightly, which made him feel a little better and he squeezed her in return. But it was when he looked at Alya that Adrien got scared. If glares could kill, his father would be a dead man by now, because Alya wasn’t just angry. She was  _ livid _ . He had never, ever seen Alya angrier. And Adrien learned that very moment that an angry Alya was a  _ really  _ scary sight.

“THE JERK!” she roared, at the same time that Marinette broke the hug and said, “We won’t let him do it, Adrien!” Even Sabine had her fists shaking in anger. 

“You poor boy!” she said, stroking his hair gently. Adrien leaned in, feeling a warm feeling inside at her motherly gesture. “Are you sure your father didn’t say that in the heat of the moment but didn’t mean it, dear?” 

“I am, Madame Cheng,” he said and sighed deeply.

“Call me Sabine, dear.”

Suddenly, Tom’s voice boomed from downstairs. “Manon! Your mommy’s here!” Sabine wiped her hands on her apron and stood up with a small smile.

“I think Marinette and Alya can help you find a solution dear. I’ll bring Manon down.” She started walking down the stairs to the apartment, beckoning to Manon to follow. “Come on, Manon. You don’t want to make your mommy wait.”

Manon looked at Adrien and gave him a quick hug. “I’m sure that Marinette can help you with your daddy, don’t worry.” Tears filled again Adrien’s eyes as he returned the little girl’s hug.

“Thank you, Manon. For everything!” he whispered into her ear. 

She looked at him. “I haven’t done anything,” she said.

“You’ve done more than you think,” he said, looking at Marinette warmly. Marinette blushed to the root of her hair. Then, he turned to Manon and beamed at her. “You know what? You tell me something that you want and I’ll get it for you.”

“REALLY?” Manon squealed as Adrien nodded. “Can you get me Chat Noir?”

Adrien’s eyes widened and a nervous smile popped on his lips. “Uh, Chat Noir?”

“A  _ doll _ . A Chat Noir doll, Adrien. Not the real Chat Noir!” said Marinette with a forced smile, poking him in his ribs. Comprehension flashed on Adrien’s face. 

“Oh. I see. All right, Manon, I’ll see what I can do.” The little girl squealed, gave him another hug and a kiss on the cheek and ran downstairs.

“You just made Manon very happy, Sunshine,” commented Alya with a smile.

Adrien smiled back. “Not as happy as she made  _ me _ ,” he admitted, blushing bright red, his arm reaching for Marinette’s waist and pulling her closer to him. Marinette blushed bright red too. “We will find a solution, won’t we?” he eventually inquired.

“Well,” Marinette started and put a finger to her chin, looking intently at the empty space in front of her. Then she stretched her hand out and started counting on her fingers, one by one. “There’s the telephone, the emails, you have a scanner… and—” She looked at him, then she picked up his right hand and started playing with his silver ring. She moved her gaze eloquently to the trapdoor and then back to him. “We can work it out. You won’t do your project alone, I promise.” Then she gave him a hug and added, whispering in his ear, “Besides, I hear that a certain alley cat doesn't need doors to escape and… he will  _ always  _ be welcome here, at any time.” She winked at him.

He laughed and squeezed her in an even stronger hug. “That’s why I love you, Marinette!” 

He felt her lips curling up on his neck. “I hope it’s not the only reason,” she said, and he touched his forehead with hers, cupped his hands on her cheeks, and kissed her senseless. 

In the background, Alya squealed and took a picture. Even more than one. 

And a video. 

For the wedding album, of course.

Fin

* * *

* * *

**Author’s Note:**

**I know, I know. I’m spoiling you. Again, two updates in a day. Wow.**

**Well, what can I say. My friend Etoile was sad and needed some serious cheering up. Last Sunday morning my 5 year old caught me talking to her and asked me what I’m doing. I told him that I was talking to my friend, because she was sad. He proceeded to send her a lot of voice messages trying to cheer her up. ‘Nuff said. Of course, the bunny just jumped out of my head and I had to write this, just to pacify it. Hope you enjoyed ^^ Please leave me a note and let me know what made you laugh (because there was plenty to laugh about here).**

**Last but not least, if you read this and you’re not part of our wonderful Discord server already, but you enjoy reading, writing and talking about Miraculous, please join our Discord server,** [ **Miraculous Fanworks** ](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) **(for people on FFN or wattpad, discord dot gg slash mlfanworks). See you there soon!**


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